Pregunta esencial: How do I use adjectives with nouns and the verb ‘to be’

to describe people in Spanish?

A noun, adjective & verb have the same function in Spanish and English:

NOUN – A person place or thing Ejemplo: Miguel, the library, el libro

ADJECTIVE – A word that describes the noun Miguel es tall The big library El libro azul

VERB – An action / activity Miguel runs everyday. The students read at the library The red book is heavy

In English, the adjectives usually come before the noun. ◦ Ejemplo: The pretty woman.

In Spanish, the adjectives come after the noun. ◦ Ejemplo: La mujer bonita.

Adjectives match the gender and number of the nouns they describe

◦ Remember that every noun is either masculine or feminine!!!

Singular: Plural:◦ El chico alto - Los chicos altos

The tall boy - The tall boys

Singular Plural◦ La chica alta - las chicas altas

The tall girl - the tall girls

Adjectives that end in –e match both genders

◦ El maestro inteligente◦ La maestra inteligente

Many adjectives that end in a consonant match both genders

◦ El amigo joven◦ La amiga joven

Some adjectives that end in a consonant add –a to form the feminine singular.

◦ ¡Lo siento! You just have to memorize them

El chico trabajador La chica trabajadora

To make an adjective plural, add –s if it ends in a vowel

Add –es if it ends in a consonant

◦ Las chicas trabajadoras◦ Los chicos trabajadores

Athletic : feminine/ singular

Tall: masculine/ plural

Intelligent: feminine /singular

Intelligent: feminine/ plural

Short: masculine/ plural

Write in Spanish:◦ Sally is athletic◦ Mr. Smith is a little handsome. ◦ Rafael is very funny. ◦ You (masculine) are serious.

◦ EXTRA! – The tall girl likes to study.

Español 1

SUBJECT PRONOUNS take the place of the subject (noun) of the sentence.

Yo

Tú

Él / Ella / Usted

Nosotros

Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes

I

You (informal)

He/She/You (formal)

We

They (M & F)/You (plural)

Conjugated forms of Ser – To be

Soy

Eres

Es

Somos

Son

Yo soy

Tú eres

Él / Ella / Usted es

Nosotros somos

Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes son

I am

You are

He/She is / You are

We are

They are

Which pronoun do you use for the following people:

1. Joseph y yo2.Clara y Marta3.Nicholas, Matthew, and Julie4.When talking to an adult5.When talking to a peer

Translate the following sentences:

You (formal) are very tall.

Gloria is artistic

They (masculine) are a little small.

We are hard-working students.